Good news: after the kids and dogs did all the damage they could to our family room area rug, we got a new one! After I did the post Fifty Shades of Grey, I inspired myself. There are two rooms on our first floor that could use my attention, but our family room really needed a new rug asap! The nice thing about grey is that it is a neutral – the new neutral – and can blend where you wouldn’t think it could.

I actually didn’t buy the rug for this room, but am using it here for now:

The dogs seem to approve – or are laying down a “base layer” of fur for our vacuuming pleasure. And I can’t tell you how long I tried to get them out of the pictures. The first picture was the best I could do, the second was the norm!

Bad news? While we were laying down the rug, our five year-old turned her attention to the kitchen:

Sigh…..Glad I was going to reupholster those chairs anyway

When I queried why would she do this (after the many conversations we’ve had about just writing on paper and being so good about it for a long time) she replied, “I wanted to practice writing my fives!” Huh. They have been practicing their numbers at school, although she still got a time out

Ironically, I had JUST sat the family down last night because it seems they have been carelessly destructive lately. My husband plays ball with the dogs inside the house and likes to try to make the throws interesting. He did it just yesterday, throwing a tennis ball from the family room into the hallway down the basement steps, but the dog didn’t go get it, which struck me as odd at the time. I discovered why: it broke a lamp.

Now, he also really, really likes sports, but he gets bent out of shape at certain calls. A series of “bad calls” made him so mad, he stomped his feet, which literally bent the foot rest of a leather chair that belonged to my father in a “V”. How and who managed to break a door in three places of an armoire, a cherished piece of family furniture, I’ll never know, but I have my suspicions. Same for a lovely bar stool in the kitchen.

The lamp and the bar stool, while I’m certainly not thrilled about, aren’t the end of the world. They are replaceable. It’s the family pieces that are like a knife in the heart. They are burned in the memories of my childhood. Once we had my in-laws over for a meal and for the first time had it the formal dining room, but all I could focus on was how his step father had his arm pitched around the back of the chair over the finial, supporting the weight of his entire arm. I didn’t want to be rude and ask him to not do that, but I wish I had. Sure enough, it snapped…

My husband came into our relationship with a sofa, chair, bed, some old dressers, a coffee table and his grandmother’s Victorian settee in tattered condition. When his mother saw it, she was upset and said to me, “You better not let his grandmother see that.” As a woman, she understood the sentimental value (but I did tell her it walked into my care like that!!) and how they should be treated.

Maybe it’s a gender thing or maybe it’s a nurture thing, but I am hoping this destructive streak gets better soon, especially with a new area rug in the house! Oh, if you’re wondering, my title lists the offenders in order. Yes, the dogs are the least destructive and staining of the lot. Although to be fair, we do go through quite a bit of bedding because you can’t expect them to sleep on the floor – they aren’t heathens 😉 Well, you can expect it, but they will sneak up in bed while you are asleep.

I actually wasn’t that upset about her writing the 5, just that we had *just had the conversation!! I probably will save the fabric (with the 5) and make a pillow, because it will be a wonderful memory!

OMG…I so feel for you on this post! Especially, the “practicing” of numbers!! Luckily, my four year-old hasn’t tried furniture yet but I could see it in her future. Why do they think they can just write on anything?? Oh wait, I know – they think they rule the world 🙂 Glad to see I’m not alone!!

This post was SO therapeutic for me!!! And I knew my blog friends would understand my angst!! I didn’t have these problems with my first child, but she also had my full attention! SO good to hear from you!!

The rug is really pretty. I understand the dog and indoor ball throwing problems. We have ball marks all over the walls in our house from indoor fetch games. It is really sad o have only lived in a new house for a year but the paint appears to be five years old!

That rug looks great in there. It looks like the dogs are having a meeting about how it’s going to hold up & who gets what spot. And why would you even try to get them out of the picture – they’re like a part of the room? You just guilted me into getting my vacuum out since my family room rug has that black shimmer after spending the day decorating the tree.
You know 5’s are really hard numbers to write so they do need lots of practice & I have to say I’m impressed with how well she centered that one. I hear that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is pretty good although I’ve had luck w/hair spray. I remember my daughter coloring the entire back of a door with crayon at my mother in law’s house one time (she didn’t allow dirt, dust, pets, or cooties in her house).
Those nutcrackers look awesome on the mantel!
Oh, if your husband would like to toss the ball around my house send him up here. You know there’s a lot of lamps I’d like taken out. How long a time out did he get?

Oh, Diane…I love your comments!! The only reason why I tried to get the dogs out of the pics was to show the pattern of the carpet – completely futile! That 5…she actually tried to hide it by draping a blanket over it. Thank goodness I really was going to reupholster those chairs! My older child never did this, but this cheeky one has a mind of her own! If that 5 wasn’t backwards, I would have blamed my husband!! He didn’t get a time out for breaking the lamp…. as upset as I was about it, it does no good to make a big deal with him because he will just be pissy about it and not understand why I’m upset about it. Plus, I was very happy to have nailed him on it because he always says, “it wasn’t me!”

Those nutcrackers are part of my army! They’re 3 feet tall, although they don’t look it in the pic because of the ceiling height, but I do love them! I am always so happy when I see that you’ve written – you always make me laugh and know the right things to say!!

And I love reading your blog & chatting – I just wish you lived next door & we could have a laugh over a cup of coffee. Have to admit though I was daughter #2 and sorry, but it really made me laugh reminding me of things I used to do. No idea why, maybe boredom, but my older sister used to have this blouse with little fox heads & red bow ties all over it. I took my mother’s little cuticle scissors (matter of fact I have them & use them to cut the eggs) and I cut out every stinking bow tie on every fox. My mother of course had a fit. Shortly before my mother died I was sitting by her bed & she said “you know, you were the biggest pain in the ass sometimes, but you were always my favorite.” Go figure.
Guys though – come on, do you really think they can be changed? After 40 years my husband’s been “redirected” often, changed…not really.

I’m guessing you’ve been busy with the holidays but hope to see you back posting soon. I’m just not that great w/understanding how to “ping” someone but figured this would pop up on your radar. Finally got around to acknowledging some awards I received over the past couple of months & had to nominate you for a couple of them – The Blog of the Year Award as well as the REALITY Award. Your posts a terrific, creative, and so inspiring. I hope you enjoyed the holidays and have a very happy New Year.

Hi Diane!! So good to hear from you! The holidays left me completely wiped out and my blog has suffered! I normally blog during the wee hours at night, but my little ones took to sleeping in my bed (with the dogs) and with the school break, would stay up too, too late!! My computer never got turned on once … Grrr!!!

I am SO honored that you would think of me for awards! Coming from you – a blog and a person that I ADORE – is so meaningful!!! I’m very fortunate to have found you in the blogosphere…you always make me laugh, when a comment from you appears, I’m delighted (no joke) and your posts are something I savor!

I hope your holidays were wonderful, that Niki was able to come home and that Lola was as delightful as always!!! Love that dog!!! Xoxoxo

Oh I figured you were having some intensive family therapy & I’m glad that you didn’t get on the computer. I can picture a bed full of everyone and it sounds great to me, I’m just surprised the dogs gave everyone else enough room.
I thought of you immediately when I was passing along the awards because your site is truly beautiful AND inspiring. I really hope everyone stops by to see your blogs and how creative you are.
I really really enjoyed Christmas so much – made a terrific prime rib for dinner & of course Lola got the bone which she liked best. Niki & her boyfriend gave Lola this talking Mr. Bill doll so of course every time she squeaked him he’d say “Mr. Billlll” and “Oooh noooo”. Took her about 14 minutes to rip his brains out and shut him up for good (Lola’s a little rough on toys).
I’ll be posting some recipes from Christmas that I haven’t gotten to yet & I’m glad I have some back up since you see, there was this little leak in the kitchen faucet. Seriously, I gave my husband an out – it wasn’t that big a leak – by explaining how we’ll be replacing the sink with the kitchen re-do. But nope…he tried to fix it yesterday & the damn spigot broke off in his hand. The hammer might have had something to do with it & of course, being Sunday none of the big box stores had just a spigot & the plumbing supply stores were closed. Sigh…. ya know what I mean?

I LOVE it!!! Your daughter’s fives remind me of my practicing cutting fringe on library book pages and curtains when I was about four years old(?). Somehow those rounded-edge scissors could cut through the sheers in my mother’s formal living room. I think we in preschool had just learned how to cut the fringe on brown paper sacks for Thanksgiving pilgram vests, and I was so proud to practice on other items! She’ll laugh at this picture when she’s older!

And, just like you cutting the fringe on your mother’s drapes (that takes some tenacity to do it with the child scissors!), it makes for such a funny anecdote! I do wonder, though, how her sheers looked after you were done!

That’s a great idea for the pillow. I don’t recall my mother being very proud of my work on her sheers, she did not save them, but I think she took advantage of the opportunity and had new sheers AND drapes made for the room.

I do not understand this at all, but I certainly have experienced it! For some reason Mr. Sandwich doesn’t get that I (a) picked out items of furniture because I liked the way they looked and the need they filled, and (b) spent money on them.

I wouldn’t hold my breath that this “destructive” phase will stop anytime soon – I “suffer” the same kind of experiences with my husband, 17 year old daughter, 19 year old son & 2 dogs. Look on the bright side – it always gives you an excuse to go shopping, although if it’s a family heirloom that gets trashed, that’s a humongous drag.Good luck!

I’ll trade you the number writing for a bitten off portion of my desk chair. We have the same kids. Do not even get me started on rugs. I like your grey selection. We still do not have one our living room floor b/c they killed 2 rugs in under a year and a half. Every time I pin something on pinterest that I am like oh that would look so nice, I get the nice reality dose of my husband going How long do you think that would stay clean in our home. Damnit.

I use outdoor rugs in my kitchen, which look really pretty and don’t stain – trust me! But I have had to take them outside and hose them off a few times after a couple of spaghetti incidents, but the stains came right out with a few drops of liquid detergent! (I have one on the side of my blog posted that’s pretty.) Just a thought, but I don’t know how they would hold up to chewing!!! 😉

The title of this post rings so true! We have a bed bench in our bedroom (wedding gift) that our basset hound chewed on as a puppy. we’ll likely have those teeth marks for many years to come. and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! nice post 🙂

I have a chest with Jack Russell chew marks on the legs!! Sweet little puppies are so enticing, but, wow, can they do some chewing!! I’m so glad you liked the post – and I like that my blog community can relate 🙂

Lol! You’ll appreciate this: I showed her Kindergarten teacher and she said it could be worse…one year a student decided to take his Jackson Pollock lesson and apply it to his room! Luckily, they already covered Pollock and we escaped unharmed !! 5 dogs!! What kind???

I get you! this house if full of boys (my hubby, my son and my 2 tiny dogs), like you my dogs are the least destructive and hubby would be the most destructive of all AH! no one but me seems to care about how things look around here, I get my hubby to let me buy nice things, he likes them but then doesn’t care for them. My son started over 3 months ago writing on walls, sofas … anything he can find 🙂 Anyway, love your new rug, it’s beautiful and your dogs look so comfortable there! 🙂

I feel so much better knowing I’m not alone!! I can’t imagine having a boy too! Thank you so much for the compliment! Yes, the puppies make themselves quite comfortable, even taking over the sofa! Ha ha!

Oh how I identify with you right now. I have a 6 year old, a 3 year old, and a husband…..lets just say what you just described seems to be par for the course at this point in our lives. My 6 year old just went on a huge drawing streak…on the walls, his bed, dresser, the doors, and my door, my bedroom walls, my white bathroom drawers. He started kindergarten and decided he wanted to practice (just like your 5 year old). He knows he should get paper…needless to say I made him clean it up but a lot of it stained. Good luck with keeping your new rug clean. 🙂

I am going to leave it for a while…because it could very well happen again…and it’s funny!!! It also may be a washable marker, but my mother always gives my children Sharpies (?!?!). I haven’t even tried to wash it out…it makes the house a home!

Oh, MY, you hit a few nerves there! It’s so hard to get children to respect the value of things when their fathers continually demonstrate that they don’t. And men DEFINITELY top the list . . . are they trying to make us accept that it’s just “stuff” and that they are more important in some strange way, or what? Also, somehow with kids they don’t fully grasp an abstract explanation of something, and require the shock and awe of actually finding out the hard way with this sort of thing. I had a similar incident with writing on an antique and a lovely pair of children’s pants in my home.
I too value the heritage or special qualities of the things I care to select for my special place–not a throw-away, disposable approach as is so common these days.

I must admit, since 90% of the furnishings are things that came from my family, there have been a few times where I felt like I want to take my “toys” and go home to play because I was so crushed by the cavalier attitude and lack of respect towards things!! I want these things to go to my children, but they have to survive. Ugh!! I’m am so up everyone’s grill right now about it and moving all the high value pieces out of the basement, where my husband watches sports and the children play.

Btw, you didn’t mention them on your last post (they were in a picture) but one of the first things I noticed was how high your baseboards are!! Love them!! No one pays attention to those details anymore, so it was beautiful to see!!

Oh, thanks so much–I love when people notice those details, as I’m sure you do! These are the things I obsess over that give things character. Like those beautiful furniture pieces we try to protect and preserve!
I definitely feel your pain with the cavalier treatment of things by certain family members!!

I’m a guy and Ifeel the same way. I would be soo upset if anything happened to any of my family pieces. I love them so much! I’m gay though…so maybe I don’t count… Sorry about all the destruction to you cherished family pieces. 😦

Finally, a guy chiming in!! Of course you count!!!! I realized a day after I posted this that my brother had issues with his wife (like putting her wet hair on his silk sofas) not knowing how to treat things, which would drive him mad!! So, part of it may just be not knowing any better or it doesn’t cross their mind to treat nice things a little better 😦 Thank you – I’m glad to hear that a guy feels the same way!!

That rug is beautiful. Sorry to hear about your stuff getting broken. Some people are not very mindful or just don’t know any better. They probably didn’t think the stuff had sentimental value. Hope all is well now. Happy New Year.

Email Subscription

If you like what you see,
Please follow me

Join 15,202 other followers

A Little Bit about Me

My name is Kearney and, while I adore my dogs and children, I just love architectural details and the symmetry of design. Adding architectural interest does not need to be difficult and the results can be simply stunning!

Big, Easy Style: Creating Rooms You Love to Live in

The English Garden

Gertrude Jekyll and the Country House Garden

Gardens in Time

A Detailed House As Seen In:

Awards Bestowed Upon A Detailed House

If you make something that is inspired by my work, use my photos, or talk about what I say or do on this blog, please credit www.adetailedhouse.com and link back to this blog.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and *clear* credit is given to www.ADetailedHouse.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Use of my material for commercial purposes is not permitted. Thank you.